Gate valve



M. P. LAURENT Jan. 19, 1954 GATE VALVE Filed April 10, 195o 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Mig azue z r l ATTORNEY.

Jan. 19, 1954 M. P.'| AURENT 2,666,615

GATE VALVE Filed April l0, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

atentecl `an. 19, 195.4l

GATE VALVE Milton P. Laurent, Houston, Tex., assignor to W-K-M Company, a joint venture Application April 10, 1950,'Serial No. 1754,911

This invention relates to sliding gate valves and more particularly to a gate valve of the through' conduit type whichk has a one-piecegate. By through conduit is meant that the valve, when-open, presents a smooth walled, unbroken Iand unobstructed passageway for the flow of fluid through the valve.

` Valves of this type present a problem in providing a rsatisfactory tight seal when the valve is closed. One construction which has been used to solve this problem consists in providing some form of wedgingmeans to force the gate tightly against the.' downstream seat when the valve is closed.` Known valve constructions embodying such means, however, involve a rather diiiicult machining problem because of space limitations. There also exists',` in such valves, the problem lof preventing undue pressure rise of the fluid trapped in the housing when the valve is closed without permitting leakage to the downstream side of the valve. Such pressure rise may be caused, for example, by'a temperature increase of the trapped uid. Although, such pressure rise may reach dangerous proportions, this problem has, for the most part, been neglected in valve constructions commonly in use.

6 Claims. (Cl. 251-68) f Through conduit gate valves are usually pro-' vided with at, parallel, seat plates, or seat skirts, serving both to guide the valve gate in its movef ments to open and closed positions ci the valve and to protect the port through the valve gate Iagainstthelfentrance of foreign matter when the valve is closed.V These plates the bottom of the valve housing without any support for their lower ends. In certain sizes of such valves, however, the lower endsof the seat plates have a tendency to exaway from the lower por tion of the valve gate when the valve is closed, thus allowing fcreignvmatter to enter the gate port and also 'providing inadequate guiding supportfor the gate. To overcome this tendency it has been proposed to provide opposed lugs kor abutments integral with the valve housing, interiorlythereof, and bearing oppositely against the lower 'ends ofpthe seat plates to maintain their proper spacing. Whilel such lugs accomplishv their intended purpose, they present a diicult machining problem because of their inaccessibil-` ity,'since the bottom wall of the housing is usually ka unitary part of the housing, i. e. cast integrally therewith. This problem is particularly acute in gate valves having a thin gate, i. e. wherein the distance between the opposed valve seats is small.

.Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a gateY valve of the throughconduit type usually depend intoV which has a one-piece gate with simpliiied means',y removable from the valve housing, for forcing the gate against the downstream valve seat when the valve is closed, such removability serving to'facilitate machining of the parts.

It is another object of this invention to provide a gate valve of the above mentionedl type with improved detachable valve seats which effec-v tively seal the valve in both its open-'and closed positions, and also permit undue pressure in` the housing to bleed into either side of the'line when the valve is open and into'the upstream side of the line when the valve is closed. j

It is another object of `this invention to provide a through conduit gate valve which hasdepending valve seat plates with readily removable means for maintaining the spacing between the lower ends of such`plates within predetermined limits. y t

It is a further object of this invention to provide a through conduit gate valve of improvedy design which permits the use of a relatively'thin, one-piece gate, and a correspondingly thin, or narrow, housing to thus provide sufficient clearance between the coupling'anges and the housing for proper bolting while maintaining'small face-to-face dimensions between such flanges.

Other objects and advantages of thev invention will become evident from thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a view, principally in central vertical section, of a gate valve embodying this invention,

with the valve shown in closed position.`

, Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially online 2-2`of Figure 1. Portions of the valve gate are broken away to show details more clearly..

chamber I I in which are located the moving parts7 of the valve. `The housing I is providedwith aligned ports I 2, I 3 and the usual bolting or cou-y pling anges Il! at the outer ends of such portsfor connecting the valve into a pipe line by means of bolts, as indicated at I5. A valve gate` I6 is mounted within the chamber I I for slideable movement between opposedv hubs I1 that are formed on the interior of the housing about the The annular `face inner ends of the ports l2, I3. of each hub l1 is counterbored, as at I8, to receive al 'detachable' valve `seat assembly. The latter comprises inner and outer, concentrically arranged, annular valve seats, I9, 29 respectively, of equal axial length. The outer seats 20 are of uniform outer diameter and are secured in the hub counterbores I8 by a pressed fit, leaving a portion 5 of the seat annulus projecting out of the counterbore. The inner seats I9 are of uniform inner diameter and are telescopingly mounted with a free sliding withintheir,respective, outer seats 2 9, The hub-engagedM ends'- of the outer seats-have inner shoulders 2l and the other ends of the inner seats have outer shoulders 22 (see Figure 3); thus forming van annular chamber 23 betweenthe; two valve seats when they are assembled as shwn" in Figure 1. Disposed within thischamherli: is; an `annular serpentine spring 24 that bearsop-lv positely against the shoulders 2:1522 teI thereby, continuously urge the inner seats I9`into sea g engagement with opposite sides of the valvefgalte.. I6. These inner seats I9 are of relatively light construction-and, hence., are .SQmewhat @sensiblen'der- 'einem'ierials@ forces. for reasons. les skinned.

` The .i/,alve gate` II is of one-.piece1const1i1cti o n-, and has a port l25 whichl is ad'aptelto;bealignedv with the housingrponts I2, I3. in theopen` position o. the valvey to permit unobstructedl flow,Y therethrough. Theupper endA ofV the gate. I Iis` connected. to l the lower endfof a valve stern Zby ofV afer-k 2'I andgpn`28 connection; This connection isconstructedto allow someplaybetween the ,ste 1n 26, and thegate I6 in`v directions` perpendicular to the v alveV seats,v for reason s which later, become evident. The valvestem I6 extendsupwardlvfthrollgh @bonnet (not S110W1l 35:.

line, 1n case housing pressure exceeds line presforop'eration. by any: conventional. means, such asa .handwheel (rio-t Show-r1)v rotative Qfz which. willh raise. and lower the gate'to open and closev the valve.

Mounted onA the projecting portion or" each valveseat 'assembly are seat plates, Ors-sins 2.a, 3 Il` `wh i, 1f1 have circular 4apertures' 3,I snuglyem.- bracingtheir respective outer valve seats 2g. Thel widthfoithese p l'ates29, 3.0 is substantiallyequal; to.. or slightlyv less than, thev axial lengtl'l` of the; projecting portion of the outerv seatsZO, forreay, sonsi'which later becorneobvious. The seat plates, 2.9; 3.0;. dcfmelnclv into the lower rortiogr. themalve chamber `I I closely,adjacentI both sides o f the, gate" l 6; andlrlto .close eroximltr. with the integrali rounded'bottom'SZY of the housing Illgto thereby protecttne,gateporti when the este is closest and also'fuifiction as.A guides for the gate,` 'Ehe-. downstreamfplate 29. is. plain and nat, asbest shown inli'gure. The upstream plate 3:0,howl,- ever., is provided with side anges 33: disposed;- closely 'adjacent opposite 1ateral sides o fV the este.. Thse llanees 33. tosetlier with; thai/sive seatsIS.; 2,0l` andv the. opposed inner ilat surfaces; of the plates 29, 30, serve to conne and; guidetlls. sate; in. its substantially rect.llineafr-l more.- mll'f 'I fhe p l-ateilanges 3.3. are tapered,V as snown to' provide lOIlgitudinal edges 34 which are inclined; with respect to, the valveV seats. Similarly in l clined ledges 3 5 .onl opposite4 lateral sides o f..th e;A valve gate cooperate with the plate angeedges 34 to 4form wedging surfaces that are..effect-ive,to force the gate tightly against-v theA downstream valve Seat assembly as'. the sate movesrintoclosedf. position. Hence, the gate, when closed, is; in@ tight sealing engagement withbothof. the down? stream valve seats I9, 20, thus..eiectingadouble;3V seall for lthelow pressure sdeof the` valve-temor@ effectively. prevent. leakage therethrough.. Sims .1,

" snrelonthelup'stream side of the valve, i. e. withboth the gate and the seat plates are separately manufactured for later assembly in the valve housing, the wedging surfaces 34, 35 can easily be machined before such assembly.

The thickness of the gate I6 is slightly (preferably about seven to ten one-thousandths of an inch .007 to .010 less than'the spacing between the fixed outer valve seats 20. Hence, when the gate isclosed'a small clearance exists between the gate and the upstream fixed outer valve seat. The spring 24 in the upstream valve s ea't assembly, however, forces the upstream inner valve seat into sealing engagement with the gate. Additionally, since this upstream inner seat I9 is ofsrela-ti'vely light; `construction, the line preslll-r tligpqrt I 3;, expands the upstream inner seat into sealing engagement with its outer seat. Henceg'li'ne pressure is prevented from entering the valve chamber II when the valve is closed. The ,-sainefsituationexistswhen the valve isopen, that is. boththe upstream andy the downstream' inner .seats I9 sea1ingly engage opposite s idesofiV the gate-becausevof the springs 24 andfalso are expanded by line pressure` into sealing engagemen-t with their respective outer xed;s ea t s It is to 'be noted that this light expansibleconstrucf, tionv of,- the inner seats eliminates the need for packing4 orother type of Y auxiliarysea1. betweeny the inner. and `outer va1ve s e ats.

The normallyfreefrunning iitofthe innery valve seats. I9., within theirrespectiveputen valve` seats.l 2.9 provides Sulllcent Clearance; there-` betweenf topermit pressure in; the housing to bleed, back throughthe.seatassemblies into thev Sura Such,preSSure-etillalizine lbleedingcanvltake place through both valve seat assemblies when thevalve isI open andthrough the upstream assembly. when the valve is closed.

Loosely mounted inv the bottom of the valve chamber. II is, a. seat plate supportingy blocleor.

ure 2) that'conform to thecurvature of thelower ends ofj the plates,29, 3D, The shoe hasafcentraiapgrtureorrecess 4I- in its undersurface 31 whihfits loosely overa projecting lug 42 roughly. castonthezbottomwall ofthe valve chamber` to preventthe 'shoe fromslipping laterally out of its plate-'supporting position. The, platefreceiving recesses 39' inthe shoe are premachinedftoxed vdimensic ris and the shoe dropped into the housing in proper positionover the lug M before the Seatrllete'sereassemblsd.. inthe housing. After these plates areassembled the shoeprevents thev bottomportion o f the plates from'flexing outwardly' away freinthe gate.V This shoeis-rnaintainedA positionprimarily by?.v its engagement' with` thelower ends-,of the seat plates. In in-..

stanceswherethebottom walloffthe housing andi the,bottom. edge .of theseat plates do not have a commonlateralenter of curvature, however, theintrtting lug-` and aperture .construction is-un'- necessary topreventthe shoe from slipping-out orppsitiqn.

Illwillthus .be seen thatfthis invention hasprovided. a simply constructedf'eicient gatevalve which ,f .ulflllsffllr the:objectsoi'I the invention. It

also will be seen that, although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, numerous variations thereof which retain the principles of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention encompasses all changes andmodications which come within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A gate valve of the through conduit type comprising: a, housing forming a valve chamber having aligned fluid ports; opposed parallel valve seats associated with said ports; a ported valve gate slideably mounted between said seats; means for moving said gate to open and close the valve; removable seat plates engaging said housing adjacent to said aligned uid ports and positioned one on either side of said valve gate to protect the gate port when the valve is closed; and wedging means including an inclined surface on said gate and an inclined surface on one of said seat plates, said inclined surfaces making contact one with the other to force said gate into sealing engagement with one of said valve seats as said gate moves into closed position.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the said one seat plate is on the upstream side of the valve and the gate is forced into sealing engagement with the downstream valve seat as said gate moves into closed position.

3. A gate valve of the through conduit type comprising: a housing forming a valve chamber having aligned iiuid ports; opposed parallel valve seats associated with said ports; a ported valve gate slideably mounted between said seats; means for moving said gate to open and close the valve; removable seat plates engagingrsaid housing adjacent to said aligned iiuid ports and positioned one on either side of said valve gate to protect the gate port when the valve is closed; side flanges on opposite edges of at least one of said plates to coniine and guide said valve gate during movement thereof to open and closed positions; and wedging means including an inclined surface on said gate and an inclined surface on the edges of said seat plate side flanges to form two sets of wedging surfaces effective to force said gate into sealing engagement with one of said valve seats as said gate moves into closed position.

4. A gate valve of the through conduit type comprising: a housing forming a valve chamber having aligned uid ports; opposed parallel valve seats associated with said ports; a ported valve gate slideably mounted between said seats, each said valve seat including inner and outer telescoping sleeves, the outer sleeve being secured in a counterbore in said housing and projecting into said valve chamber; means defining an annular chamber between said sleeves; resilient means within said 'annular chamber for urging 6. said inner sleeve axially into `sealing engagement with said gate; means for moving said gate to open and close the valve; and wedge means, a part of which is carried by said gate and effective as the latter moves into closed position, for forcing said gate into sealing engagement with both the inner and the `outer sleeves Aof one of said valve seats.

5. A gate valve of the through conduit type comprising: a housing forming a valve chamber having aligned fluid ports; opposed parallel valve seats associated with said ports; a ported valve gate slideably mounted between said seats, each said valve seat including inner and outer telescoping sleeves, the Youter sleeve being secured in a counterbore in said housing and projecting into said valve chamber; and the inner sleeve being expansible by fluid pressure within the valve conduit and inner sleeve against the outer sleeve to provide a seal therebetween; the outer sleeve of the downstream valve seat being enageable with said valve gate; means defining an annular chambery between said sleeves; resilient means within said annular chamber for urging said inner sleeve axially into sealing engagement with said gate; and means for moving said gate to open and close the valve.

6. A gate valve of the through conduit type comprising: a housing forming a valve chamber having aligned fluid ports; opposed parallel valve seats associated with said ports; a ported valve gate slideably mounted between said seats; means connected to one end of said gate for moving the same to open and close the valve; removable seat plates engaging said housing adjacent to said aligned fluid ports and positioned one on either side of said valve gate to protect the gate port when the valve is closed, said plates extending into proximity with a wall portion of said valve chamber opposite the other end of said gate; a member removably mounted in said chamber adjacent said wall portion and having upstanding anges to engage the outer end portion of said plates to prevent spreading thereof, and lug means between said chamber Wall portion and said seat-plate-engaging member to anchor the latter in place.

MILTON P. LAURENT.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 783,953 Henry Feb. 25, 1905 1,049,450 Caskey Jan. 7, 1913 2,030,458 McKellar Feb. 11, 1936 2,230,600 Olson Feb. 4, 1941 2,253,881 Anderson Aug. 26, 1941 2,255,829 Spang Sept. 16, 1941 2,504,924 Fennema Apr. 18, 1950 

